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Located in the scenic county of Angus, immediately available, three contact centre specific properties, two at Brechin Business Park and one at Arbroath Enterprise Park. Both locations are high-profile gateway sites and benefit from excellent road, rail and air communications and rapid access to the central belt of Scotland and beyond.
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Fishing is an important part of the Angus economy offering direct employment in catching, aquaculture and processing. Fishing has been one of Angus' key industries from as far back as Viking times with its ideal concentration of coastal areas, and the trade still continues at Arbroath where catches are landed for the domestic and processing markets.
History of the Fishing IndustryAngus has always had a major involvement with the sea, with fishing centred on near and middle-distance waters including the North Sea, and further a-field in the Norwegian waters. These distant-ground catches were landed by Angus fishermen at Aberdeen. The pattern however changed in the mid-1970s when countries began to declare Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) extending to 200 miles and, in consequence, the distant grounds became closed to UK fishermen. For many fishing areas, the large deep-sea vessels could not operate economically in home waters. Today, in the league table of UK landings, Scottish ports make up eight of the top twelve by weight, and nine by value and although Scotland has only 8.6% of the UK population, the Scottish fish catching sector accounted for 62% of the value of fish landed in the UK in 2002.
Considering jobs dependent on fishing in activities such as ship repair, equipment supplies, marketing and transport, the industry equates to about half employment dependent on North Sea oil when that operation was at its peak. Moreover, like agriculture and unlike many other industries that are more transient, it is an industry that has contributed to the Angus economy since the earliest times.
Despite European restrictions and a subsequent decline in fisheries activity in the 1990's, Angus fishermen continue to successfully source traditional species of fish.
The fish processing market in Arbroath is very buoyant and more resilient than fishing since it can use fish from a number of sources. To remain competitive, some Arbroath fish processors such as RR Spink & Son have diversified into smoking salmon and trout as well as haddock using the same equipment and skills. RR Spink & Son is Angus' largest processing company employing around 90 people with a turnover of over £5.5 million in 2002. The Spink family handed down their smoking, seasoning and curing techniques through three centuries of generations using that knowledge to make the best use of fish harvests and to produce the best fish in the world. These techniques now contribute to the areas tourism industry.
Angus Council registered the name 'Arbroath Smokie' by the Arbroath Fish Processors Association in 2003.
There are a number of fisheries and fish farms operated by Estates and private landowners in Angus and the angling market is a particular target for these businesses. The fishing season runs from 16th February to 31st October. For more information on angling, click here.
